Raising Danger
by Jam-jackson
Summary: Danger has become intrinsic for a world with Harry Potter in it to exist. We’ve made her so important in so many worlds, that the other worlds are realizing the necessity of her influence. But what does this mean? A Dangerverse AU.
1. Prologue

An uneasy quiet had settled over the Founders' Hogwarts. The children of the four founders all sat in a circle around a world viewer, upset and alarmed by what they saw.

"Were you expecting this?"

"No, none of us were. Unless mother was, but she would have said something to us."

"Was Anne expecting this?"

"No. I don't think she was."

"But what does this mean?"

The question hung in the air, asked by Paul, but thought by all. They were so deep in thought that they didn't hear their parents come into the room.

"And what has got all of you so pensive?" Rowena asked, looking around at the faces of the group that was usually more active when grouped together.

"There's a new branching, a new world," Margaret supplied to her mother.

"That is unsurprising. I cannot keep track of them all. Is this one so different that it has shocked you?"

"Yes," The groups said all at once.

"W-what?" Helga stuttered a bit at the abrupt response.

Brenna spoke up, "You know that there is the… control world. The world with no Gertrude Granger, the world where we did not interfere at all. And then there are various worlds that do not have Gertrude Granger but we did poke and prod here and there. We also left a few other controls alone, to see if the results would be the same in each situation if we did not interfere. There was one world that paralleled the true control so closely it was worrying us, and so we began to watch it. But now, out of the blue, there is Gertrude. And none of us did anything to bring this about. We can't figure out what it means."

"Perhaps," Sophia suggested, "From all of our interfering, Danger has become intrinsic for a world with Harry Potter in it to exist? We've made her so important in so many worlds, that the other worlds are realizing the necessity of her influence?"

Godric spoke up at last, "Perhaps this is one of the instances where we need someone to go down and become actively involved within the world?" He automatically turned towards Alex, the one who had ventured forth into the worlds before.

"I'll go," Adam spoke up suddenly, before anyone else could say anything.

"I wanted to," Paul said, pouting slightly.

"It's my turn to go!" Maura snapped.

"It'd nice to be with other people again," Brenna said, Sophia nodding beside her.

"It's no fair that Alex is always the one to go," Margaret concluded.

Godric let the squabble go on for a few moments, hearing a few mutterings about throwing Paul into the lake if he didn't shut up, and Alex slowly slinked away from the group.

"We'll draw straws," Godric said.

Paul stared at him for a moment, "All the powers of the universe at hand, and you want to _draw straws?_"

"Well I could have you all play ninja, pirate, cowboy amongst yourselves until you came to a decision if you prefer," Godric suggested.

Adam rolled his eyes, "We'll draw straws."

Godric turned to the Ravenclaw sisters, "Margaret, I'm afraid that you cannot be a part of this. Without magical powers you'd be a liability. And Sophia, we need you up here to send visions to those who are receptive." Both sisters nodded and sat back down, saddened, but understanding.

Paul and Maura Gryffindor, Adam Hufflepuff, and Brenna Hufflepuff gathered around as Godric formed straws out of this tubes of fire. Holding them loosely in his hand, they all grabbed one and pulled at once.

It was obvious that Maura's straw was the shortest, and the others sat down resignedly.

"That works out well," Godric said with a small smile, "I know exactly what you can do."


	2. Meet the Cast

Hermione Granger sat on an airplane, somewhere over China, idly watching the movie that was playing. It was _The Man in the Iron Mask_, and Hermione was only watching it because she had only packed a small muggle bag as her carry-on, and had already finished the book that she had had in there. She decided after only a few moments of watching that the book was better, and she subsequently tried to sleep instead. She had thought that she'd easily be able to sleep on the twenty-seven hour long flight, but found that she was too nervous to reunite with her parents instead.

What if they hated her for what she did?

What if they were mad that she was now engaged to a boy that they'd barely met?

What if they didn't want to come back with her?

What if they were happier in their new life in Australia then they had been with her?

Hermione sighed, readjusting in her seat as she tried to escape the thoughts that were hounding her. She began to think about Ron instead, wondering what he was doing at that moment.

XxXxXxXxX

"Wotcher Harry, he's better to watch than a smellytision!" Ron exclaimed to his best mate.

"Television," Harry corrected idly, his eyes riveted to the same spot as Harry's.

Teddy Lupin was learning how to control his metamorphmagus abilities. It was easy to see that he was starting to absorb his surroundings. Every couple seconds his hair would flash red or black, and his eyes would change to blue or green.

His skin was the interesting part to watch though. Any time Teddy's eyes laid site on something his skin would change to match it. It didn't matter what he saw, one second his skin looked as though it were made of wood, the next he matched his stuffed wolf.

That had scared Harry the most, of course. Knowing your godson was a werewolf pup and seeing him wolf colored was enough to give any man a scare. Luckily Teddy shifted appearances before Harry could get worked up, and he realized that it wasn't the full moon either.

Not that Teddy was dangerous on full moons yet. A werewolf pup didn't advance to maturity the way that a real wolf did. Since Teddy was still an infant, he still transformed into the wolf equivalent—a very small wolf who wanted to suckle or play, not rampage and kill. Now that Teddy was teething, the wolf was teething too, but conjuring up bones and chew toys for him had been easy enough so far.

Harry had moved in with Andromeda Tonks after the final battle. She still worked as a healer, and worked the night shift at St. Mungos. She needed someone around the house to take care of Teddy while she was at work. Harry was going to Auror training during the days, so Andromeda took care of him then. Neither of them got quite as much rest as they really needed, and neither of them saw each other much, but both of them cared about Teddy so much that they set it aside as the way things had to be.

Teddy was falling asleep, tiring himself out trying to shift appearances so quickly. As his eyes shut his control over his form shattered, and Teddy's natural form showed up. He had dark hair from his mother's side of the family. His eyes were blue like Remus', and he had his father's nose, his mother's chin, and Remus had stated once that he was positive that Teddy had his Great-great-Aunt Maggie's ears.

Ron found Teddy's natural form much less riveting than his matamorphing, so he turned to Harry to speak. "So, did you hear about Luna's new impossible obsession?"

Harry turned to look at Ron questioningly, "You mean she's given up on the crumple horned snorkack?"

Ron snorted, "At least those are plausible."

"What in the world is more implausible than the crumple horned snorkack?" Harry quirked an eyebrow at Ron.

"Looney Luna Lovegood has decided that she is going to find the good in Draco Malfoy's soul."

Harry closed his eyes and shook his head, "For the first time I think Luna deserves that nickname. She must be absolutely bonkers to think she'll find that!"

XxXxXxXxX

"She must be absolutely bonkers to think she'll find good in his soul," Neville said angrily as he viciously cut away some of the weeds in the Hogwarts pumpkin patch. He wasn't a Hogwarts Professor—yet—but Professor Sprout had gone on vacation for the summer, visiting a niece in America, and Hagrid was on his honeymoon in France. This left Headmistress McGonagal in the position to hire someone to take care of the plants in the greenhouses and Hagrid's gardens for the summer. Neville was the obvious choice.

Neville wasn't sure about why he was angry about Luna's new quest. She was a friend, just like Ginny or Hermione. He honestly didn't like her _that _way, but the thought of her with _Malfoy _made him extra vicious towards the weeds he was cutting. If any of the Weasley boys could have seen Neville from the inside out they would have been able to tell him that he felt the same way that they did towards Ginny: overprotective.

"Do you need any help?" A soft voice said behind Neville. He set down his shears and turned towards the voice, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

The girl who stood behind him looked young. Maybe fourteen he'd guess. She was dark skinned and seemed as delicate as a bird. Her hair was braided and had little silver beads at the end of each one. Her eyes were gray.

"I'm alright," Neville said, surveying the garden. In his anger he'd taken out more of the weeds than he'd realized, the whole patch appeared to be weed free. Odd since he hadn't actually gotten to most of the patch yet. Neville shrugged it off, weird things happened when he was around plants. He was used to it.

"You're sure?" The girl asked, a fleeting look of concern going across her face.

"I'm sure," Neville said, "In fact I was just thinking of heading to the kitchens to get a drink."

The girl nodded, and wordlessly started walking with him towards the castle. "I'm Neville Longbottom. Fresh out of Hogwarts, and I must say, I don't remember ever seeing you around Hogwarts…what year and house are you?"

"I'm Meghan Black," The girl supplied, "And I've lived in America until now. Headmistress McGonagal is letting my mother and I stay at Hogwarts until we can find a place of our own. I'll be going to Hogwarts this year though, I'll be a sixth year."

"What house do you hope to be in?" Neville asked her, surprised at how easy it was to talk to the girl.

"I'm hoping Gryffindor like my mum and dad, but Ravenclaw wouldn't be that bad. What house were you in?"

"I was a Gryffindor," Neville said with a hint of pride in his voice, remembering the sword that he had pulled out of the sorting hat.

"Even more reason for me to want to be one," Meghan said with a smile, making Neville blush.

XxXxXxXxX

Wendell Wilikins rose from his chair with a sigh as the doorbell rang. He was exhausted, and didn't especially want to deal with ruddy salesmen that day. But when he opened the door his tiredness was instantly forgotten. The girl standing in the doorway was the spitting image of his wife when she was that age.

"Hello, Mr. Wilikins?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"My name is Jane White, but I was adopted. I've been trying to track down family members ever since I came of age. I think that I'm related to your wife, a cousin. And so far the only family I've been able to find at all."

The girl looked so tired and nervous that Wendell's heart went out to her, "Come on in, I'll go get my wife, and we'll talk to you."

Wendell led her into the den where he left her seated on the couch before grabbing his wife, Monica. "You have to come see this dear."

Wendell led Monica into the den, and was satisfied with the gasp when she saw Jane. They were both confused however when the girl drew a long thin stick out from inside her sleeve.

XxXxXxXxX

"_Petrificus Totalus" _Hermione said, watching as her parents bodies froze up. She hated to do this to them, but in order to unravel the spells that she had put on them, they couldn't be confounded, and she was afraid that if she had just tried to explain what she needed to do that they would throw her out before she could do anything.

"I'm sorry I have to do this this way," Hermione said softly before she started the long and complicated process of unweaving the spells. She tried to avoid meeting her parents eyes, as they were wide in terror.

Hermione was about halfway through taking the spells off when she heard it. A baby crying in the next room.

Her mother's eyes darted towards the doorway in terror. Hermione was torn, but knew that she had to finish undoing the spells now or her parents could be hurt in the backlash of the cutoff magic.

Hermione hurried through the last bits of the spell, aware of the sounds of the child in the next year. Finally finishing, she sagged into the couch and muttered "_Finite incantatum."_

Rose Granger immediately darted from the room, coming out with a baby in her arms.

"Hermione, what did you do?" David Granger asked her wearily.

"I—they'd have killed you, and there was no way you could protect yourself… I had to send you away."

Rose and David exchanged a look. Now that they had their own memories back they remembered how much danger that they had been in. They had taken out a subscription to the Daily Prophet when they learned how dangerous Hermione's life was. They were baffled by their daughter, but accepted her life, and the dangers inherent in it.

"Okay," They said simply, "We'll get plane tickets and head home then."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, "I have tickets for the three of us, for next week."

"Four of us," Rose said softly.

"When your mother and I arrived here, both of us thought it was odd that we were getting older and had no children. We decided to remedy that. Your little sister was born in April."

"Hermione, meet Trudy," Rose said.

"Gerty," David corrected.

"What?" Hermione asked, shaken.

"Your sister, Gertrude Kelly Granger."


	3. Enter the Villain

Gazing in his self-crafted world viewer he smiled in satisfaction. Things were going smoothly. Not a single hitch in his plans.

He moved another pawn forward.

XxXxXxX

Draco lay on a couch, somewhat content, as he listened to a piano piece on the wireless.

He was only somewhat content because the piece reminded him of someone that he didn't want to think about—Luna Lovegood.

When she had first approached him this summer he had been all set to glare and insult. Then he caught a glimpse of her eyes. She wasn't looking at him, she was looking _through _him.

"It's alright," She said in a distant voice, "I know you didn't mean it."

"Er, mean what?" He had asked before he could stop himself.

"Everything."

What scared him was that he'd been thinking that thought himself. And after that brief conversation, he couldn't seem to get rid of her.

Unsure what else to do, Draco took the trouble to his father. Lucius had taken care of all of Draco's troubles as a child, by buying a solution or using his influence. But his response to Luna had been anything but what he expected.

"Draco, do you see many purebloods associating with us? I'm cooperating with aurors in order to save our family. Every pureblood family that we knew before is repudiating us. Luna Lovegood is a pureblood, and if she wishes to speak to you, then I am glad. Perhaps there is some hope at continuing the Malfoy line after all."

Draco knew the battle was over, since he couldn't go to his mother about it. After their family was reunited and realized that they were safe, his parents had been so eager to 'celebrate' that his mother had forgotten to take her contraceptive potion. Now a few months into the pregnancy everyone was on edge. Draco had been an only child because his mother had had a miscarriage before she successfully carried him to term, had a difficult childbirth with him, and then miscarried three more times and gave birth to a stillborn before a healer was finally able to convince her that it would be best for all that she just took the contraceptive potion until she was no longer fertile. Narcissa's hope was so fragile that no one dared speak to her, and Lucius' concern for her safety made in dangerous to talk for him for long.

So Draco had taken the implied instruction from his father to not scare Luna off, so was civil with her. He was scared to admit that he liked it. Crabbe and Goyle had never been the sort of friends to carry on a conversation with, and while Luna's conversation skills needed help, it was always entertaining.

Draco's head snapped up as the sound of the piano music started to come from a different area of the room.

"How'd you even get in here?" Draco tried to snarl.

"I walked," Luna said, not looking up from the piano, her turnip-like earings bobbing in rhythm to the beat of the song.

"What are you going to do after Hogwarts Luna?" Draco asked after a few moments filled only with piano music.

"Look for the crumple-horned snorcack and nargles and blibbering humbingers, and other animals like them."

Draco didn't let the animals phase him. Having seen her at least once a week, if not daily, all summer had taught him to not react.

"What about you?" Luna asked, successfully picking up her end of the conversation for once.

"I don't know Luna… When I was little I just figured I'd grow up and be rich, and just being a Malfoy would be enough. But with our family's reputation going down the drain…"

"Yeah?"

Draco sat up and put his face in his palms, starting to voice his thoughts in a way he'd never done to anyone before. "When I go out of the manor everyone who was associated with the dark side at all looks at me like I'm a flobberworm. I've never been looked at like that before. And the people who were with the light… they either look at me like I'm worse than scum, or they pity me! How am I supposed to _do _something if I'm around people who hate me, or worse, pity me all the time. I can't stand much of this… at this rate I'm going to turn into the next Snape."

"You need to be not you," Luna said vaguely.

"I need to stop being myself?"

"No," Luna looked puzzled, "You need to be yourself. You just need to not be you."

XxXxXxXxXxX

Harry's emotions were in turmoil. It was the first morning of true auror training. He and Ron had done drills over the summer with some of the senior Aurors to prepare them for the true training. But today, the first true day, felt completely different. Maybe it was because Ginny had boarded the Hogwarts Express for her last year of school that morning, or that Hermione had left for her first day at the Ministry. Or maybe it was the fact that there was now a third boy there for Auror training. One who hadn't been there during the summer training.

His skin was dark brown, and his black hair was kept short. Dark eyes sparkled, and his white teeth looked bright against his skin. His voice was pleasantly deep, and overall, while there wasn't really a physical resemblance, the boy reminded Harry of Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Harry nudged Ron, and wordlessly they approached the new boy.

"Hello, I'm Harry," Harry said, avoiding his infamous surname.

"And I'm Ron."

"Ron and Harry?" The boy looked between the two of them. "Wheres Hermione?"

Harry sighed. It was inevitable that he'd be recognized. Didn't mean he wasn't annoyed. "She's working at the Ministry."

"Oh," he looked at Harry sympathetically, "Must be hard not having your girlfriend here after being together for seven years and all."

Ron turned red, and Harry couldn't help but laugh, "Hermione?"

"Hermione is my fiancé," Ron said once he could speak.

Eager to keep Ron from exploding at the boy, he interjected, "What gave you the idea that Hermione was my girlfriend?"

"Oh, well my mum reads Witch Weekly, and since I wasn't at Hogwarts, I figured didn't know any different."

"You weren't at Hogwarts?" Harry looked at him again, "Durmstrang?"

"Beauxbatons," The boy corrected, "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Maximilian Blake, but I go by Max."

XxXxXxXxX

Draco Malfoy looked into a mirror and for the first time in years he wasn't hit with the maelstrom of emotions associated with his face.

He looked so much like his father that as a child people knew his name before he'd been introduced. That had made him proud.

Storekeepers would see wealth in his face and would cater to his wants. That made him arrogant.

At school people saw a bully in his face. That made him feel powerful.

For fifteen years he had been pleased about what his appearance meant. Then it all went to pieces. Charged with an impossible task, peoples view of him shifted.

His fathers 'associates' would look at him and sneer because they didn't think he could do it. Others looked at him in pity. People at school looked at him with suspicion. That made him angry.

After the task was competed he was hated more than he'd ever been. And by that time he was being controlled by someone else. That made him scared. Scared, angry, and sad about his choices, for the first time in his life hated the way he looked. And that feeling hadn't gone away until today.

He looked into the mirror to see the mahogany skin, dark hair and dark eyes. "Finite incantatum," Max Blake murmured, and watched his features melt back into the familiar face of Draco Malfoy.

" You need to be not you," She had said. Well, dark skinned, auror in training, friendly with the trio Max Blake was about as different from Draco Malfoy you could get. But he had remembered the other part that she had said. "You need to be yourself. You just need to not be you." So he had been himself as much as he could. His viciousness was gone, but he still enjoyed egging on Weasley. It was so easy to make comments here and there in his mock innocence that caused Weasley to bluster and grouse.

Draco had been infinitely surprised to see that Potter seemed to think it was funny each time he said something that set Ron on edge. He even joined in egging him on. Draco had been surprised at how easy it was to get along with his old school nemeses.

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Hello Luna, can I sit with you?" Ginny stood at the door of the train compartment that she had sat in for the past few years. It felt empty without Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville. She almost even missed Malfoy coming around to taunt them.

"Of course Ginny," Luna said, turning her faraway gaze away from the window.

Ginny settled in awkwardly. The year before they'd had Neville and the DA, and all their worries about Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Now Luna had been through trials Ginny couldn't imagine, and all of their friends were out in the real world.

"How's construction on the new house going?" Ginny asked dully.

Luna smiled brightly, "It's going well! Father loved my octohedral pyramid design. There's a lot more space inside than the old house, and I think I already have something in mind to pain in the top floor."

"You never really talked about being able to paint you know," Ginny said, glancing sideways at her friend.

"Well painting's not nearly as interesting as the Crumple-Horned Snorkack', is it?"

"No, I suppose it isn't," Ginny said with a laugh, starting to feel at ease with her friend again. She turned her head as the door slid open, reaching for her wand without a thought, a bat-bogey hex on the tip of her tongue. She stilled her wand hand as she saw a couple fourth years looking into the compartment.

"You're Ginny Weasley! Harry Potter's girlfriend! And Luna Lovegood! I heard you were brainwashed by the Malfoy family after you were kidnapped by You-Know-Who!"

Ginny stared at them open mouthed for a moment,

"Can you tell us what it's like to know Harry Potter?" One of the girls asked, looking a bit lovesick, "He's so dreamy!"

Ginny growled a bit, "We're not going to gossip about Harry. We're not looking for groupies, just leave us alone."

The fourth years gasped at her tone and backed away, revealing a third girl behind them that looked to be about their age.

"What do you want?" Ginny asked grumpily.

"Never mind," She said softly, "I heard what you said."

Ginny looked at her carefully. Dark skinned, dressed in her robes already, but with no house color for some reason, and very sad looking.

"Wait, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. What did you need?"

"Neville told me to look for you. He said that you became his best friends, and that you were great people that I should meet." The girl said with a bit more confidence.

"Neville?" Luna turned towards Megan, looking at and through her in the way only Luna could.

Meghan shifted uneasily under the gaze, "My mom and I lived at Hogwarts for most of the summer, and I met Neville there and we became—friends. He told me a lot about you guys, and he said he was sure that we'd be friends if we met..."

"We'll be friends," Luna said dreamily, "All of us." She smiled brightly for a moment before picking up a copy of the newly revamped Quibbler and began to read. Meghan looked at Ginny, perplexed. Ginny just shrugged as if to say "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Sit down," Ginny offered, "What house do you think you'll be in?"

"Probably Gryffindor or Ravenclaw," Meghan said, relieved to have found some friends.

XxXxXxXxXxX

"It feels so weird to be up here without Ron and Harry," Hermione said.

"It probably feels odd to be up here without getting into trouble or saving the day too," McGonagal said dryly. She had invited Hermione over for tea after her first day of work at the ministry. There was still plenty of time before the train arrived, and the two were drinking tea, eating biscuits, and talking about magical theory, the past, and wedding plans.

"She looks just like you," McGonagal murmured, looking down at the baby girl she held in her hands. "If I didn't know that every Weasley would have at least a hint of red hair, I'd say she was yours."

"Professor!" Hermione gasped and blushed at the insinuation.

"Call me Minerva please," She tickled Gertrude under the chin until she showed one of her smiles.

"What a darling," Minerva said "I can't wait to teach her."

XxXxXxXxX

The year quickly fell into a pattern unlike any they'd ever experienced. It was normal and they weren't fearing their lives, for the most part. There were still pockets of Voldemort's followers—human and inhuman—that would occaisionally cause trouble, but none of them had to live in fear for their lives.

Ginny was taking NEWT Level classes in Charms and Transfiguration because she wanted to work with art after Hogwarts, and they were the most applicable classes that were offered. She also was taking NEWT Level Defense, because she enjoyed the class. She was taking regular Potions and Care of Magical Creatures. It wasn't the worst course load she could take, but she was challenged.

Luna was taking NEWT Level Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, and Charms to prepare for her future career as a naturalist. She was also taking NEWT level Defense with Ginny, and regular Transfiguration and Ancient Runes.

Meghan was busy with her OWL level classes, studying like made for Potions, charms, transfiguration, herbology, and defense so she could take NEWT levels and become a healer.

Neville was studying with Phyllida Spore—who herself had been apprenticed to the famous Majoribanks—as a Journeyman Herbologist.

Ron, Harry, and Max were learning the practical applicatons of Defense and other subjects to the task of being Aurors—it was a lot more different from what they'd been through than they'd expected. Voldemort had been a large evil, the tactics employed to track down and lesser evils were complex and time consuming.

Hermione was working hard in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, spending time with her parents and sister, and planning her wedding.

Overall, by the time the end of October came around, they were all ready for a break.

XxXxXxXxX

Gazing into his worldviewer he smiled as he moved another pawn to set things in action. So far everything was working out perfectly with barely any effort by him.

XxXxXxXxX

"Do you see Neville?" Harry asked Ron as they entered to Hog's Head. The disreputable bar had gained popularity this year after the way Aberforth had helped the underage students escape Hogwarts, and the crowd was too tall for Harry or Max to be able to see through it.

"He's got the big table in the corner," Ron said after craning his neck, "And 'Mione's already here."

Distracted by her, Ron pushed through the crowd, forgetting Harry and Max.

"I guess I should have warned you," Harry said with a grin, "Ron and Hermione danced around each other for so long that now that they're together, they're still nauseatingly expressive of it. He'll be no good to talk to for a while now. Hermione's usually a little better, but she liked him for so long, that she's nearly as bad as him."

Max nodded and followed them to the table. Max was surprised at the chin Neville's appearance from what he remembered, but quickly disguised that fact, since he supposedly had never met the boy. Neville was no longer the pudgy, unconfident boy that he had taunted in school. He had lost all of his pudginess, and wavered between lean and skinny. His face held scars from his punishments from the Carrows that had gone untreated, but they didn't disfigure him, they somehow made him look more striking. And his hair that had grown unkempt while he lived in the Room of Requirements was still long, but was groomed now, making Neville look _cool. _Max was positive that this wasn't the same boy that he had mocked as long as he could remember. The air of self confidence that he had threw Max for a loop, and he felt speechless.

Neville looked up at them ruefully, "I was having a great conversation with Hermione about the magical properties of common muggle plants, until Ron came. How long are they going to be like this?"

Harry looked over at Hermione and Ron, who were kissing like they had been apart for years. "About an hour."

"And you must be Max?" Neville turned to Max.

"And you must be the the infamous rebel, Neville Longbottom," Max replied with a grin.

"I see my reputation precedes me," Neville said, leaning back in his chair and giving a lopsided smile, "And I've been going by Nev lately."

And at that moment Max realized that Nev was as different from Neville as Max was from Draco. "It's nice to meet you."

They settled down at the table and started to talk, the conversation ranged from quidditch to herbology to experimental charms to music preferences. Max even found talking to Hermione fun, a surprise since he'd always been told that a pureblood and a muggle-born wouldn't be able to see eye to eye on anything.

They had just heard the babble of Hogwarts students entering Hogsmeade when there was an ear shattering scream. As one the five at the table stood up, wands drawn, and rushed outside.

It looked as though it was a coordinated attack, not just a random one. There were dementors, inferi, and deatheaters.

"Those two, their the ones we want to hold hostage!" A masked deatheater called, pointing to two girls standing with a third, instinctively standing in a triangle protecting each other's backs and casting their patronuses. A hare, a horse, and a somewhat familiar looking dog were guarding them from the dementors.

"Luna!" Max called out involuntarily as inferi moved towards them. Beside him two other voices called out "Ginny!" and "Meghan!"

Without thinking Max was moving towards them, blasting spells as fast as the thought of them. He barely noticed that there were four people fighting by his side. Before he knew it they were beside the girls.

Luna had a faraway look in her eyes, "We need to get inside. Quickly. There's something we have to do."

Max didn't understand, but he acted, turning back towards the pub and blasting his way inside, his concentration entirely on getting everyone inside.

Once they were all inside they slammed the door and locked it from the inside. Luna rushed up the stairs, into room seven, and they followed. Luna locked the second door after them.

"We need to sit in a circle," Luna said, pointing at the ground, "Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Max, Me, Neville, Meghan."

Luna sat down next to Max, and passed Harry a piece of paper that she had apparently had prepared in her pocket.

"A sacrifice is required of us today," She said in a strong clear voice, "We give up something we love, to gain something which will benefit us all and tie us closer together. Will you do this?"

There was a moments pause before they all responded, "We will."

Luna lifted a chain from under her shirt that held a ring, "My mother's wedding ring." She said, as she put it in the center of the circle. No one else moved, so Max took the next move. He removed a ring from his pinky finger, "It used to be my mothers," He supplied, leaving off the fact that it was a Black family signet ring.

Meghan removed a ring from a necklace also, pushing it towards the center. It looked much like Max's, but more masculine, "My fathers."

"My grandfathers," Neville said, pulling a gold ring off of his finger.

Harry hesitated a moment before removing a ring from his right hand, "It was supposed to be for Teddy, but I guess I'll use Remus' wedding ring for this."

"This bracelet was from Fred," Ginny said softly, removing a silver bracelet from her left hand.

Hermione and Ron looked at each other for a moment before taking off their engagement rings and setting them in the center.

"We have given of our belongings," Luna said. "Now we must give of ourselves."

She pulled a knife and a white napkin out of her pocket. She quickly sliced her left palm and let the blood drip onto the napkin before passing it to Max. The rest quickly followed her example The pain was less difficult than giving up the possessions had been, after all. Luna nodded to Harry.

"We will now swear an oath," Harry said calmly but with a sense of authority, "Hear me speak it first, and then look around you. If there is anyone here to whom you cannot swear this, depart now. For this oath is binding by magic, and the one who breaks it will never find rest, by day or by night, in life or in death. Hear me now--

"My hand in yours,

"My wand with yours,

"My life for yours,

"Now and always.

"Is there anyone here who does not wish to swear?"

There was silence, and some sidelong looks to Max and Meghan, the relatively unknown people. But no one spoke against it.

"Then join hands, and speak the oath with me, three times, to make it truly binding upon us all."

They joing hands and began to recite.

"My hand in yours,

"My wand with yours,

"My life for yours,

"Now and always."

Max felt a tingling in his hands, and from everyones reactions, they felt it too.

"My hand in yours,

"My wand with yours,

"My life for yours,

"Now and always."

The second recitation had been firmer and more together. The tingling increased.

As the began the last repetition of the oath, the eight voices blended into one and seemed to resonate through their blood and bones.

"_My hand in yours,_

"_My wand in yours,_

"_My life for yours,_

"_Now and always."_

And as they spoke the words a third time, the all collapsed as though stunned.

XxXxXxXxX

"Where are we?" Ron asked, shaking his head.

"Hogwarts," Meghan said, looking perplexed.

"No," Hermione looked around, "This place is more like Hogwarts than Hogwarts is."

No one could argue with Hermione's words, and as one they turned towards the doors to the castle and waled in, automatically turning towards the great hall.

What they found there surprised them, there were ten people there in pandemonium.

"Excuse me, what's going on?" Harry asked them when they'd been standing there unnoticed for a bit.

A man who looked distinctly like a lion stood up, "That's what we want to know. _How did you learn the oath, when none of us gave it to you?_"


	4. The Multiverse Fact

"Where are we?" Ron asked, shaking his head.

"Hogwarts," Meghan said, looking perplexed.

"No," Hermione looked around, "This place is more like Hogwarts than Hogwarts is."

No one could argue with Hermione's words, and as one they turned towards the doors to the castle and walked in, automatically turning towards the Great Hall.

What they found there surprised them: there were ten people there in pandemonium.

"Excuse me, what's going on?" Harry asked them when they'd been standing there unnoticed for a bit.

A man who looked distinctly like a lion stood up. "That's what we want to know. _How did you learn the oath, when none of us gave it to you?_"

Luna spoke up, "I had a dream last night, telling me what I had to do today."

"Alex?" The lion like man turned towards a younger man with dark hair.

"It wasn't me this time."

"Girls?" A woman with white hair turned towards three women grouped together.

"We didn't interfere."

"Excuse me," Harry spoke again, "What's going on?"

Everyone in front of them tried to speak at once, and the young adults took a step backwards involuntarily to get away from the loudness. Suddenly, the woman with the white hair spoke out, "Enough, I will speak to them about this." Immediately everyone stopped talking, and deferred to her.

She sat down, and a chair conveniently formed beneath her. "Please, be seated," She said, unconsciously slipping into the tone of voice that teachers use. "Are any of you aware of the multiverse theory?"

Harry watched as everyone but Luna looked at her in confusion, while Luna seemed particularly pleased at knowing this piece of knowledge.

"Luna," she said, for all the world like a teacher calling upon a pupil.

"Multiverse is the idea that there are many similar worlds to our own, in which anything that could possibly happen, does happen." For once Harry remembered why Luna was a Ravenclaw. If it was something that interested her, she could be very intelligent.

"Very good. Now, the thing is, the multiverse theory is not, in fact, a theory, it is a fact. There are a multitude of universes, and they generally fall into three categories."

Harry hesitantly tried to sit the way the woman had, and found a chair forming underneath him. The others quickly followed suit, and Harry noticed that Hermione had out a notebook and a quill and appeared to be ready to take notes. He smiled at the contrast between the easier to use muggle notebook and the wizarding quill that she had gotten so used to.

"The first world branches away from the other two shortly after the time of Merlin. Instead of England's wizards and witches coming together to learn, they became more and more separated. As wizards and witches became more and more reclusive, they stopped marrying each other, and even went so far as to become hermits, guaranteeing that magic left England. The witch-hunts later guaranteed that the last remnants faded, and the wizarding world as you know it, did not exist. Although, in the late nineties, a woman of that universe turned out to be very receptive to the second universe, and wrote stories about the happenings of the wizarding world as fiction for the masses. And as it became more and more popular, more and more people of that generation became receptive to the second universe. And then one day, a young woman became receptive to the third universe, and every day more people become receptive to that universe too. There are probably more minor universes, but nearly all of those can fall under the broader category of the second universe."

"Which universe are we from?" Hermione asked, as the woman stopped for a breath."

"I'll get to that," She said, stilling Hermione's question with a look, "The other two universes branch off at the times of the Hogwarts Founders, shortly after they formed the school, but before the rift between Salazar Slytherin and the others. The worlds divided because of," she paused for a moment, "Rowena Ravenclaw. There were two men that were both in love with her. In one universe she married one man, and in the other universe she married the other. In universe two, she had a daughter, Helena, who died tragically, and became the Gray Lady at Hogwarts. Her marriage was hurt terribly by it, and she died of heartbreak. In universe three she had three daughters, Margaret, Brenna, and Sophia. The only trouble with her family was that Margaret was a squib, and while her husband died before her, Rowena did not die of a broken heart."

"That makes no sense," Hermione interjected, "Harry spoke to Helena, she was your daughter. But these three are clearly your daughters too."

Rowena smiled slightly, "Points to Gryffindor. There are certain characteristics that distinguish between Universe two and three, other than my children. The biggest of which is that in universe two, there is no Danger, but in universe three, there is."

Harry scoffed, "If you're trying to tell me that there was no danger in my life, then you must have your facts crossed."

Rowena looked confused for a moment, then began to laugh a bit. Ron gave her a look that clearly said that he thought she was barmy.

"Harry, in universe two, you were sent to live with your Aunt and Uncle, and lived with them until you went to Hogwarts, where you met Ron and Hermione your first year. You went back to their place each summer, to reinstate the bloodwards there, in spite of their abusiveness." Max looked startled at this, and gave Harry a considering look.

"In universe three, Hermione's parents had a daughter before her, nicknamed Danger Granger. She was twenty years older than her, and after their parents were killed, she raised Hermione herself. The two of them lived in Surrey, and Danger became your babysitter. A chance meeting with Remus Lupin in a park and the fact that we were supplying her with prophetic dreams showed the two of them that Sirius Black was innocent of murder. Remus and Danger met with an old friend of theirs, and the three of them concocted a plan to kidnap you Harry, and break Sirius out of jail. The four adults went into hiding with you and Hermione. Remus and Danger married, and Aletha and Sirius married. Aletha became pregnant, and gave birth to Meghan," Everyone swiveled to look at Meghan, and even her dark skin couldn't hide her blush. "After Lucius Malfoy kidnapped all of you, Narcissa released you all and promised to turn Lucius in in exchange for one thing, for the adults to raise Draco in a loving home. Harry, Hermione, Meghan and Draco were raised as brothers and sisters."

"What?" Everyone but Luna, Meghan, and Ginny exclaimed at that statement, but were too dumbfounded to say anything else.

"Your family swore the oath that you spoke earlier, and became known as the Pack. You four became friends with Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna, and after your first year of Hogwarts, the eight of you also spoke this pact, and became known as the Pride."

"So what would we be?" Neville asked, speaking up for the first time.

"You'd be the Pride," Rowena said calmly.

"Even without Draco?" Meghan asked, not knowing the boy, the question wasn't asked with hostility. But Rowena was silent.

Max looked around for a moment, before steeling his nerves. "I think that there's something that I should tell you. Or maybe show you."

Everyone turned to look at him, except Luna. Hermione seemed to have already put the pieces together and was staring at him wide eyed. Suddenly, he had a wand in his hand, and was casting finite. For a moment everything was still.

The next moment the all too familiar site of Ron Weasley punching Draco Malfoy was seen, before Rowena froze them all in place with a wave of her hand.

"The most important fact that must be addressed is this. You have moved from universe two, to three, because of one fact. Danger Granger was born, nearly forty years later than she should have been, this is bumped you into another universe, and someone other than us appears to be meddling."


	5. The Chessmaster

It was a pretty drab place, a shack, in the middle of nowhere. Literally. He wasn't in a world. He was in a small bubble outside of many worlds. Unlike some of the lesser evils in the world he had lived in he had realized that there were different ways to prolong life without getting rid of his own humanity.

That didn't make him humane.

His house within this bubble contained two things. A chessboard and his worldviewer. And he had been here long enough that what he had shaped, shaped him. He couldn't remember his own name anymore, he was just the Chessmaster. And each move brought him closer to the thing that he wanted most. Power. Power outside of this sphere, and more power than any mortal had ever wanted before.

And after watching so many worlds he thought that he might be able to reach his goal at last. If he did everything exactly right. So much lay in the hands of twelve people. He could be the catalyst, but the true results would come from them, or so he hoped.

Hope, that fragile emotion, the last good emotion that he clung to, the last thing that kept him human and not monster, because he let the evil permeate through him, but he kept that single pure emotion. And he balanced on a knifes edge. One step in the wrong direction, and he was lost.

The king could be lost, but he must always protect the queen.


	6. The Calm Before The Storm

_There was a fracturing of the friendships at first. Luna was always on Draco's side. Hermione was open minded enough to give him a second chance. Meghan had no pre-conceived prejudices, and she was drawn to the fact that he was family. Harry still blamed Draco for Dumbledore's death. Neville had displaced his hate of Bellatrix upon her nephew. Ron and Ginny were blinded by years of ridicule and hate._

_But no one could argue that they weren't bound by something bigger than their dislike. The necklaces that hung around their necks, still a mystery in their meanings, reminded them each day._

_And day-to-day they kept going. Hermione planned her wedding with Ginny as maid of honor, in spite of their disagreement. Meghan and Neville still sent each other owls daily. And Draco continued Auror training in the guise of Max, forcing the other two boys to remain civil. In spite of the awkwardness things were going well for everyone._

_Key word: were._

_XoXoXoX_

_The chess master moved his pieces carefully, ready to take some pawns. It was so simple. Two potions, a specific charm on a muggle automobile, and a command implanted so deeply in a woman's mind that there was no denying it. Yes, his plans were going well._

_XoXoXoX_

_Hermione knocked on McGonagal's door, and entered when she was called in. "Hello professor," Hermione said cheerfully._

"_Hello Ms. Granger, to what do I own the pleasure of this visit? It's not our normal day for tea. Not cold feet for tomorrow?"_

"_No no, the wedding's all set, and I figured with all the students gone for the holidays you'd have some spare time. I was wondering if I could get your help solving a puzzle?" Hermione said, McGonagal was one of the few people that she went to when she had a question, instead of driving herself crazy trying to stubbornly figure something out herself. _

"_Of course my dear, what do you have?" _

_Hermione reached for the pendants around her neck, and willed the chain longer, as the founders had explained. She spread out the five disks to show them. "These were a gift to my friends and myself. I'm fairly sure that this pendant represents our parents, because Ron and Ginny's feature a battery and a muffin. Arthur and Molly. No one else has a matching one, but the images seem fairly representative. Harry's has a stag for his father, and a tiger for his mother. But we aren't sure about the other four pendants."_

_Hermione showed her the next pendant, which had a cat, a dragon, and a winged horse. McGonagal pushed her glasses up farther, and peered closer at the cat. "Hermione, this cat has the exact same markings as my animagus form. I would assume that it represents me. However, it is impossible for anyone to have a magical animal as an animagus form, so while I feel that these other two animals are likely to represent someone, I doubt that those are their forms."_

_Hermione smiled, "A dragon would be Hagrid, don't you think?" McGonagal nodded, "But I have no idea who a winged horse would be."_

_McGonagal lookhed at the next pendant, and the four animals on front and and three on back. "How many people have necklaces like this?"_

"_Eight," Hermione said, "And seven animals. But you wouldn't need yourself on your own necklace, so they represent us, don't they?"_

"_Your animagus forms, I would presume."_

_Hermione peered at a list that she had written down. "Ron's has a cat and mine doesn't, and mine has the bird and his doesn't. Those are our forms?" _

"_It would appear so. What's this one?" The next pendant had a wolf cub and some sort of lizard. Underneath them were two indistinct figures, the larger one slightly less blurred, but still hard to tell what it was._

"_More animagus forms, I'd assume, but who's?" McGonagal said. Hermione shrugged and pulled out the last pendant, the one that didn't seem to quite match the others._

"_A bishop? Is Ron's a knight?" Hermione nodded. "I'd say it's an aspect of your personalities. I've known that Ron would be the knight ever since he played in that chess game your first year."_

_Hermione nodded, wondering why the pendant with the chess pieces bothered her. _

"_So, tell me about the wedding plans," McGonagal said, and Hermione pushed the pendants aside to tell her mentor all about her dream wedding._

_XoXoXoX_

_Neville stood at the edge of a doorway looking over the calm room where his parents slept. It was better that they were sleeping. It wasn't the day that he normally visited them, and it would only confuse them to see him today. He composed himself and walked past the room to Healer Guthrie's office to find out why he had been summoned there. _

"_Mr. Longbottom, sit down, sit down!" The healer said, being overly cheerful._

"_Healer Guthrie," Neville said formally, "Is something the matter with my parents?" _

"_Well," the healer hesitated, "Not necessarily the matter_, but," she hesitated, "I hope you won't be embarrassed…" She trailed off, looking uncertain.

"Excuse me? Neville said, rather confused.

"Well, you see, one of the only things your parents consistently remember are their strong feelings for each other. Throughout the years there have been times when they are just lucid enough to, um, act on those emotions." The blush burning in the healers cheeks made it perfectly clear just _how _his parents acted upon those emotions, and he tried to push the thoughts about that out of his mind to focus again on the healer. "Generally they're that lucid after we try a new treatment on them that is partially successful. Because of this we've had your mother on a contraceptive potion for some time now. But about a month ago we discovered that your mother was pregnant. We think that the last potion we tested on them must have negated the effectiveness of the contraceptive."

"A month ago?" Neville grasped for one small fact before he tackled the big ones, "Why did you wait to tell me until now?"

The Healer paused, then explained. "Well, a witches body knows its own limits, even if the mind can't focus. We waited because there was a chance that she would naturally miscarry. At this point we are able to determine that her body is healthy enough to carry the baby to term if you decide it."

"If I decide it?" Neville floundered again.

"You're next of kin and the adult who makes decisions about your parents since you reached majority, as you recall. If you think it would be best we can perform the abortive spell."

"And if we don't?"

"She'll carry to term. She'll be limited to bed and guided exercise. We'll be unable to test new treatments on her during the pregnanc and she might experience some disorientation on her bad days when she sees herself pregnant, but as you know, her bad days are rare. Most importantly though, when the child is born, you'd become the legal guarding. I know this is a lot to consider. I know you need time--"

Neville quickly cut the healer off, "I don't need time." He ignored the healers crushed look. It was easy for Neville to guess what the healer had assumed. "My parents sacrificed their minds in order to protect their first child. The would never abort a child. I want to follow their wishes, and I will raise the child." Neville rose from his chair without another word, smiling slightly at the stunned expression on the healers face as he departed.

"God I need a drink," he muttered as he stepped into the floo.

XoXoXoX

"You have to take him out, it's tradition!" Max whispered to Harry.

"Hermione would kill him. She'd kill _me_!" Harry whispered back.

"She doesn't have to know! And I'm not saying you have to take him out to a strip club or buy him a hooker, just out for drinks."

Ron looked up from a few meters away, "Do you think I'm deaf, or just dense?"

"Dense," Max said, without even turning to look at him. "You're his best man Harry, it's your duty!"

"Going out drinking with Harry doesn't sound that exciting," Ron chipped in.

"Invite Neville, play drinking games, make it fun!"

"Neville doesn't drink. Not after that one time…" Harry trailed off.

"One time?" Max asked, ignoring Ron's laughter.

"He bet Ron that he could drink more than him. It didn't end well."

"Really?" Max looked at Ron speculatively. "He can't drink that much. I bet I could beat him."

Ron bolted up, "Bet what. And not money. I have plenty of that."

Max thought for a moment, "The winner gets to choose any tattoo design for the other person, and the location."

The glint in Ron's eye would have made Fred and George proud, "Magically binding bet."

With a nod Max took out his wand, and they sealed the deal.

"Come on, let's owl Neville and go out."

XoXoXoX

Four young men stumbled down a dark alleyway, one of them much more drunk than the rest, and another one somewhat more sober. They supported each other as best as they could.

"Should we be in Knockturn Alley?" One of them slurred.

"Relax Nev. You're with three Aurors. And Harry Potter. Why're there two of you mate?"

"Need two of me to hold Draco up," Harry muttered, struggling to keep Draco walking.

"And Knockturn Alley's the only place with the tattoo parlor we need. I know just what I'm making him get."

XoXoXoX

Completely sober and even lacking a hangover thanks to Georg'es miraculous patented Sobering Solution, Ron stood in a small room looking more nervous than he had since before Voldemorto's defeat.

"Calm down mate, or you'll force me to do something to take your mind off of everything," Harry said with a grin.

"Do it. Distract me," Ron said, trying to swallow around the lump in his throat.

"You asked for it." Harry waved his wand and Ron's dapper tux was transformed into something horridly familiar. The sight of Ron Weasley in burgundy robes with moldy lace was hilarious enough. Add to the fact that Harry had made it the same size as it had been when Ron was fourteen--well, it certainly distracted Ron.

A knock on the door tore Ron's attention from the ghastly robes, and a second later Mr. Weasley was poking his head in the doorway. "Ron, you need to come out now, everything's starting in just a moment." He glanced over his shoulder in distraction "And make sure you straighten your tie."

Ron turned to glare at Harry and the transfigured tuxedo was quickly returned to normal. With a wave of Harry's wand the tie was straight, and everything was ready.

"Relax mate. You two were made for each other. Nothing can go wrong today."

Ron squared his shoulders and looked Harry in the eye, "Someday you'll be in my shoes, and you'll realize that this is scarier than basilisks and death eaters and Voldemort put together. Come on, lets get this over with."

Harry followed Ron out to stand in front of the church's alter. It was the same church that Hermione's parents had gotten married in, and they had taken great pains to make sure that all of the witches and wizards there blended in enough for Hermione's muggle relatives to be there. It wasn't as cozy as Bill's wedding at the burrow had been, but it was important to Hermione to be there. Her muggle relatives were mad enough about not hearing about Danger's birth that there would have been no living down not inviting them to the wedding.

Ron smiled slightly as he thought of Danger. Ever since they'd met the Hogwarts Founders the nickname had stuck, in spite of Hermione's father's dissapproval. Danger was five months old now. Too young to be a flower girl, but her little dress matched the bridesmaids, and she was in all of the wedding photos.

The maid of honor was Ginny, with Luna as the other bridesmaid. Harry was, of course, best man, and Neville finished off the wedding party.

Harry followed Ron's nervous gaze felt his heart jump into his throat. Ginny stood framed in the doorway at the back of the church. She was beautiful, stunning, gorgeous. He didn't think there was actually a word strong enough to describe how she looked at that moment. Her hair was up in curls, her brown eyes and freckles standing out against her pale skin. The green dress she wore matched the leaves in the bouquet of white roses and lilies. Harry had never seen a more beautiful site in his life.

The pianist, Meghan's mother, began to play a song that Harry faintly remembered hearing before, but couldn't place. Ginny began the slow walk towards the front of the room, and Harry began to wonder how long it would be before he stood in Ron's place, and Ginny would be the one in white.

Harry wrenched his gaze from he sight of his beloved in time to see Luna start her way down the aisle. Her hair was done up like Ginny's, and Harry was once again reminded that Luna could be very pretty when she wasn't too distracted to try. His eyes sought out another person, hastily placed into the wedding as an usher. Harry was unsurprised to see that 'Max' was staring at Luna in awe. Draco had only two things going for him: the fact that before he had revealed his disguise Harry had liked him quite a bit, and his obviously growing feelings for Luna. Unfortunately those were two large things, and Harry's resentment of the boy was growing less each day, even when he tried to actively maintain it.

Harry looked back at the doorway as a gasp rippled through the room, mostly from Hermione's relatives and the few reporters there at the wedding. It was unsurprising. Most of Hermione's family hadn't seen her since before she went to Hogwarts, and remembered the bushy-haired no-it-all with too large teeth. The reporters had all seen photos of Hermione war battered and grime covered after their year of chasing the horcruxes. Those who had seen her at the Yule ball remembered just how beautiful she could be when she really tried. Add to that the glow of a happy bride, and Hermione was magnificent.

Harry watched, bemused, as the wedding seemed to fly past. No one had ever mentioned to him before how _short _weddings were. It was a matter of minutes for the minister to say his piece, then Ron and Hermione were saying their vows, Ginny was holding Hermione's bouquet, Harry was handing Ron the ring, then they were kissing while everyone applauded.

Within minutes they were all in the reception hall, dancing, laughing, and eating snacks. Harry was amused at the reactions of the muggles to Butterbeer. He stood next to Ginny smiling at the crowd and trying to ignore the reporters when he was approached by Max. Ginny looked at him in distaste, and looked as if she was about to walk away when a slightly tipsy Ron came over and threw his arm around Max's shoulders, stopping her in her tracks.

"Since when are you two so chummy?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

"Show her Max," Ron said with a smug smile on his face.

Max sighed and rolled up his sleve, to the spot where the Dark Mark was once placed. In its spot was a magically animated tattoo of a the face of a very smug Ron Weasley.

Ginny didn't even bother to stifle her giggles, "How did _that happen?"_

"_He agreed to a magically binding bet that he could out drink me," Ron said proudly._

"_Yeah, well, no one warned me that you are apparently immune to fire whiskey," Max muttered._

"_He didn't use to be. You should have seen him the first time he had it. The summer after his fifth year he found a bottle that Bill had hidden really well in his old room, and he decided to try and drink it. He had three shots before he was violently ill. I covered for him, told mum that he must have had the flu. The idiot went back and tried again a few days later. Kept doing it all summer until he could take shots without being sick. Stubborn fool," Ginny said, looking at her brother fondly. _

_Ron shrugged, "It was a rough summer." He said simply. _

_Harry shook off the dark thoughts that came with that statement, and turned to Max. "Hey, I want you to meet someone." Max followed Harry as they left the main room and stepped into a side room where Harry had just seen someone else enter._

"_Bella?" Max asked, taking a step backwards towards the door. Harry shut the door firmly to block his escape as the woman turned towards him._

"_No, I'm Andy. You knew my sister?" _

"_A little more than knew," Harry said softly, taking the sleeping Teddy from Andy's arms. "I think you should show her, and I think the two of you should talk. It should have happened long before now."_

_Harry slipped out of the door with his godson, and lingered just long enough to hear Max tell Andy not to be alarmed and cast a finite._

_XxXxXxXxXxX_

_Draco stared at the aunt he had always known existed, but had never been allowed to know. "Don't be alarmed," He said quietly, before turning his wand on himself and casting a finite charm. His disguise melted away, and he stood before her, waiting for her reaction._

"_Oh, Draco," She murmured, bringing her hand up to her mouth. "Oh God, how you've grown… Oh how I hate that man!"_

_Draco looked up in surprise. "What?"_

_Andy looked like she regretted her words, but didn't back down from telling him the truth. "I visited once, after you were born, to see you. Your father found out, and told your mother that he would hurt her if it happened again, since I was a blood traitor. She visited me once more, when he found out, he beat her. I told her that I couldn't stand her getting hurt over me. She told me she didn't care…that she was used to it. The last time she came to see me he beat her again and told her that if it happened one more time then he would take it out on you instead. I never saw her, or you, again. Until now."_

_Draco shook his head slowly, "That's not possible. My father never struck me, or my mother."_

_Andy shook her head just as slowly, "I'm sure by the time you were old enough to remember it had stopped and Cissy was a perfectly obedient trophy wife. And in time I think he has grown to actually love her. His actions at the end of the war seem to indicate so at least."_

_Draco nodded, "He's about out of his mind worried about her right now."_

"_Worried, whatever for? Is she sick?" Andy looked alarm._

"_Not sick, per say. Pregnant. Six months right now, and on permanent bed rest for the duration. it's a wonder she hasn't gone mad herself."_

_Andy's face was a comical expression of joy and dismay, "Oh she'll be so happy to have another child! But its so dangerous for her! I shouldn't really be possible honestly, unless the curse is broken… and maybe it is now that Voldemort is defeated."_

"_Curse?" Draco asked._

"_Yes, a stupid and unfortunate curse on the 'House of Black' designed to kill us off. One child each before our own death, and only then if there is love involved. I think that's why your mother had such a hard time having children in the first place. Your father spent a lot of money on controversial potions to enable your birth."_

_Draco nodded, "That explains a lot. I hope that doesn't hold true for my generation."_

"_Well, so far it has," she said sadly, "My Dora is gone, leaving Teddy behind. You're the only one left of your generation."_

"_Well," Draco said with a grin, "That's not quite true. I seems that your cousin Sirius and his girlfriend had just conceived right before he ended up in Azkaban. His daughter Meghan is here at the wedding in fact. Ms. Freeman left for America to live with a family member there after Sirius' betrayal, and she didn't find out about his innocence until after the war was over, and she moved back here. So there's Meghan, myself, Teddy, and my new brother or sister once they're born. We're not in danger of dying out yet."_

"_Well I'll have to be sure to meet this new cousin of mine," Andy said to herself, "And Draco? Don't be a stranger. I don't have much family left. I'm glad that you're becoming friends with Harry. Maybe Teddy will have more family than I thought possible."_

_To Draco's shock she hugged him lightly before stepping out of the room back towards the reception. Draco paused to reapply his glamour before stepping back into the room, but not before he noticed how thin and frail Andy had felt when she put her arms around him, and how tired she seemed. He hoped that she wasn't coming down with something. He also needed as much family as he could get. _


End file.
